Roman Inscriptions of Britain is a 3-volume corpus of inscriptions found in Britain from the Roman period. It is an important reference work for all scholars of Roman Britain. This monumental work was initiated by Francis J. Haverfield, whose notebooks were bequeathed to the University of Oxford. The first volume, Inscriptions on Stone, was then edited by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright with an addendum by R.S.O. Tomlin. It was first published in 1965, with a new edition in 1995.
Volume II contains, broadly speaking, the inscriptions found on instrumentum domesticum (domestic utensils).
Volume III (edited by R.S.O. Tomlin, R.P. Wright, and M.W.C. Hassall) is a continuation of Volume I, containing all the lapidary inscriptions found from the closing date of Volume I up to 31 December 2006.
There are also indexes published to the volumes allowing the scholar quickly to reference nomina and cognomina, military units, imperial titles, emperors and consuls, deities and so forth. Entries are also cross-referenced to the CIL and other indexes and journals as necessary.
References to RIB entries are usually written in the simple form: for example, RIB 1726 refers to entry 1726 in volume I, which in this particular case is a part of an altar with the inscription "[I(ovi)] O(ptimo) M(aximo) D(olicheno)". This inscription is shown here with the critical marks from the RIB intact.
Erecura or Aerecura was a goddess worshipped in ancient times, often thought to be Celtic in origin, mostly represented with the attributes of Proserpina and associated with the Roman underworld god Dis Pater, as on an altar from Sulzbach. She appears with Dis Pater in a statue found at Oberseebach, Switzerland, and in several magical texts from Austria, once in the company of Cerberus and once probably with Ogmios. A further inscription to her has been found near Stuttgart, Germany. Besides her chthonic symbols, she is often depicted with such attributes of fertility as the cornucopia and apple baskets. She is believed to be similar to Greek Hecate, while the two goddesses share similar names. She is depicted in a seated posture, wearing a full robe and bearing trays or baskets of fruit, in depictions from Cannstatt and Sulzbach. Miranda Green calls Aericura a "Gaulish Hecuba", while Noémie Beck characterizes her as a "land-goddess" sharing both underworld and fertility aspects with Dis Pater.
Coventina was a Romano-British goddess of wells and springs. She is known from multiple inscriptions at one site in Northumberland, England, an area surrounding a wellspring near Carrawburgh on Hadrian's Wall. It is possible that other inscriptions, two from Hispania and one from Narbonensis, refer to Coventina, but this is disputed.
In ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman Britain, he was equated with Apollo.
The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history. The Corpus continues to be updated in new editions and supplements.
Robin George Collingwood was an English philosopher, historian and archaeologist. He is best known for his philosophical works, including The Principles of Art (1938) and the posthumously published The Idea of History (1946).
In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath. She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tablets suggest that she was conceived of both as a nourishing, life-giving mother goddess and as an effective agent of curses invoked by her votaries.
Templeborough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the Roman fort found there which were mistakenly believed to be that of a Roman Temple.
In ancient Celtic polytheism, Latis is the name of two Celtic deities worshipped in Roman Britain. One is a goddess, the other a god, and they are both known from a single inscription each.
Satiada was a Celtic goddess worshipped in Roman Britain. She is known from a single, unadorned altar-stone dedicated to her at Chesterholm (Vindolanda). The inscription reads:
Sheppard Sunderland Frere, CBE, FSA, FBA was a British historian and archaeologist who studied the Roman Empire. He was a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.
Lenus was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman god Mars.
Aballava or Aballaba was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana (Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west. It is about one and a half miles south of the Solway Firth, and its purpose was to guard the south end of two important Solway fords, the Peat Wath and the Sandwath, which were also to become favourite routes for medieval border raiders.
Toutatis or Teutates is a Celtic god who was worshipped primarily in ancient Gaul and Britain. His name means "god of the tribe", and he has been widely interpreted as a tribal protector. According to Roman writer Lucan, the Gauls offered human sacrifices to him.
Breage Parish Church is the Anglican parish church of the parish of Breage, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is dedicated to Saint Breage or Breaca, said to have been an Irish nun who came to Cornwall in the 5th-century.
Milecastle 17 (Welton/Whittledean) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian's Wall. The milecastle is located near to the Whittle Dene reservoirs and is visible as a platform in the ground. Just 174m west of the milecastle is a distinct change in wall construction, indicating that it may have formed a boundary between different legions. The existence of the milecastle has been known since at least 1732 and excavations have produced numerous finds and evidence of post-Roman occupation. The associated turrets both lie beneath the B3618 Military Road. A stone found near the milecastle is the only known written record of the name of Gaius Julius Marcus, a Roman Governor of Britain whose name has been erased from other inscriptions possibly because he fell out of favour with Emperor Caracalla.
The Textoverdi were a tribe of Celtic Britons whose name appears in the upper valley of the River South Tyne in present-day Northumberland. One scholar calls them one of the “shadowy peoples of Lower Britain.” The Textoverdi may have been a sub-tribe of the Brigantes, but according to Laurence and Berry, they could have been an independent group who originally paid tribute to stronger neighbours but then managed to establish their own independent relationship with the Romans.
Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. The fort is positioned 18 miles north-east of Eboracum on the River Derwent.
Brenda Swinbank was an English archaeologist. She was one of the first women in Britain to become a professional archaeologist, specialising in the study of Hadrian's Wall, and was instrumental in bringing to publication excavations under York Minster.
In archaeology, instrumentum domesticum refers to instruments, tools, and other artifacts intended for ordinary and domestic use. It also includes replicas of such objects made to be deposited in graves. The name is Latin for "domestic instruments", a term originally defined by Roman Law.
Roger Simon Ouin Tomlin is a British archaeologist specialising in the translation of Latin text and epigraphy. Tomlin is an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford.